CVE-2026-54542

Nimiq: Out-of-bounds panic in KeyNibbles::Add from oversized child suffix in a deserialized proof

LOW
3.7
CVSS Score
Published: September 14, 2026 at 03:29 PM UTC
Updated: September 30, 2026 at 05:51 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorNimiq Proof of Stake

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Severity
LOW3.7
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.4%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Nimiq is a Rust implementation of the Nimiq Proof-of-Stake protocol based on the Albatross consensus algorithm. Prior to 1.6.0, a malicious state-sync peer can crash a syncing node by sending a crafted TrieChunk whose proof contains a TrieNodeChild suffix that is individually valid but exceeds the 63-byte KeyNibbles backing array when combined with the parent key. KeyNibbles::Add in primitives/src/key_nibbles.rs performs the combined slice operation without checking the total length, and the input reaches put_chunk, TrieNodeChild::key, and TrieNodeChild::is_stump before proof.verify, so the attacker does not need a valid cryptographic proof. Exploitation requires the attacker to be selected as the victim's sync peer during state sync. The resulting out-of-bounds panic is transient because the node restarts and resynchronizes. This issue is fixed in version 1.6.0.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 1.6.0
Affected range stops below 1.6.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

3.7LOWGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
LOW
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusDEFERRED
CWE
CWE-125

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